Citi Releases Report On TARP Investment

Citi has issued its first quarterly progress report detailing the deployment of the $45 billion of capital the U.S. Treasury invested in the company as part of the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The report, titled ‘What Citi is Doing to Expand the Flow of Credit, Support Homeowners and Help the U.S. Economy,’ notes that Citi has allocated $25.7 billion to residential mortgage lending.

The company says it is making loans directly to home buyers and supporting the housing market through the purchase of prime residential mortgages and mortgage-backed securities in the secondary market.

Citi's goals in deploying TARP capital are threefold: to help expand available credit for consumers and businesses, restore liquidity and stability to the capital markets and support the recovery of the U.S. economy.

The report describes the procedures Citi has established to oversee its deployment of TARP capital, as well as other efforts the company is making to assist distressed borrowers and support U.S. businesses and communities. Citi will update the report each quarter.

‘To this end, Citi is working in partnership with the government to increase available lending and liquidity in the U.S financial markets and to help put the U.S. economy back on track,’ says Citi's CEO, Vikram Pandit. ‘We have already approved $36.5 billion in initiatives backed by TARP capital that are consistent with the objectives and spirit of the Treasury program. And, as part of our ongoing business, Citi continues to lend to consumers and businesses in the United States, where we extended approximately $75 billion in new loans during the fourth quarter.’

Since the start of the housing crisis in 2007, Citi has worked with approximately 440,000 homeowners, whose combined mortgages total approximately $43 billion, to avoid potential foreclosure, the company says.Â Additionally, Citi is adopting the streamlined modification program developed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and continuing its foreclosure moratorium for eligible borrowers with Citi-owned mortgages who seek to remain in their primary residence and have sufficient income to make affordable mortgage payments.

The company says it has worked with investors and owners of more than 90% of the 4.3 million mortgages it services – but does not own – to make sure that many more qualified borrowers can also receive the benefits of this moratorium.